


Art 204

by Aoren



Series: Troublesome Twelve [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-01-20 18:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1521632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoren/pseuds/Aoren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Jaeger, the new freshman at Sina State University. A boy full of passion, need for adventure, and a deep attachment to his friends. After transferring to Sin for the spring semester, he learns that almost all of his friends were going abroad, without him. His plan? Take an impossible art class together to keep their friendship alive.</p><p>Levi, the art professor that teaches the landscaping class. The one professor that is the hardest to please and seems to never like  Eren's work. Which only fuels the younger boy's fire to prove to him that he could be an artist, if only for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Study Abroad

“What do you mean you’re leaving fall semester?”

Eren Jaeger couldn’t believe what he was hearing from his two best friends. All he could do was stare at the two from across the table as the both took a sip of their lattes. With half a week before classes started, Armin had suggested that they take a trip to the Starbucks on campus to celebrate Eren’s transfer from Shiganshina to Sina. They had ordered their usual of two caramel lattes and a white hot chocolate with three vanilla cake pops. Before he could even begin to tell the two of the mishap with his dorm room, they had blurted out their plans to study abroad.They were unsure where, but they had already signed up for it. Along with their other friends Connie, Jean, Sasha, and Krista. That was more than half of their friend group gone in one night.

“It’s only for a few months,” Armin piped up after a few seconds of silence. His fingers tapped nervously against the hardwood table, mocking the sound of rain as it hit the sidewalk. The pattering sound reminded him of the times he and the blonde had spent inside playing the latest racing games. Armin was surprisingly good at them. “We signed up before we heard about you coming here,” Mikasa added as she twirled a strand of her black hair around her index finger. She had the kind of hair that could be curled with a single twist. When they were nine, she had let Eren and Armin snip off most of her hair in an attempt to keep her hair straight. “You’ll still have Jean, Reiner, and Bert.”

“I’ll go with you!”

“The program is already filled.”

“But we’ll Skype you every week.”

A groan pushed its way past Eren’s lips, feeling not even the least bit better from their attempted comforting words. He rarely spoke to Reiner since he had told the group of his plans to join the military. Bert had his afterclass job and Marco was almost never around. He had roughly three months to cling to his friends until they slipped from his grasp.  
“What are we going to do?” Eren mumbled, shoulder slumped, his forehead pressed against the cool table. His hands curled around the bottom of his worn wool sweater. His mother had stitched his full name onto the back and given it to him for his eleventh birthday, just before she died in a robbery. It had been several sizes too big at the time and it had taken him seven years to finally grow into it.

“Why not take a class together?”

The three students turned their heads to stare at their extremely tall friend, Bertolt Hoover. He was wearing an apron that was too small for his thin body. In his big hands was a mug of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream. The chocolatey smell had him wishing for a second round of drink. Bert noticed Eren’s hungering eyes and set the cup in front of him. On the house, as always.

“Can we take a class together?” Eren asked as pressed the pad of his thumb against the side of the mug to test the heat of the liquid. The idea of being in the same class appealed to him, but everyone that they knew, excluding Annie and Mikasa, were majoring in different subject areas. Finding common ground would be harder than finding a good country song.

“Most classes fill up within the first day and registration was two weeks ago,” Armin pointed out with a frown. He too seemed to have gotten his hopes up at Bertolt’s idea. He leaned back in his chair, his nose scrunching as he tried to think of a different plan. A moment later he turned to Mikasa, silently asking her for help.

“There’s a class that Jean told me about,” Mikasa sighed as if she didn’t want to bring it up. She lifted her styrofoam cup to her lips and gulped down the rest of the cold latte before speaking again. “It’s an art class but no one wants to take it because the teacher is a complete hardass. There’s probably a handful of seats left.”

“Let’s do it,” Eren exclaimed, only having paid attention to the last sentence. Still, he was ecstatic that there was a chance for them to finally be together after months of separation and many more to come when spring rolled around. Senior year, he couldn’t imagine ever being apart from his group for more than a week. He had endured the first semester of freshman year alone. Next semester he was clinging to Marco’s side, even if only to piss off Jean. “All of us can do it. What do you think, Ber-?”

Eren hadn’t even noticed the tall nineteen year old walk away after offering up the suggestion. He was once again behind the counter, his back turned to them. A short blonde girl he recognized as Krista stood on the other side of the counter, waiting for her order. She seemed to be in a hurry, not even saying a word as she rushed through the exit after accepting a to-go cup. Bert wiped the sweat from his forehead on the back of his sleeve and clumsily hopped over the counter. How he didn’t have an accident or break every bone in his body was lost to them.

“What were you saying?” Bert pulled a chair up to their table and fit himself between Eren and Armin. His shift had ended around the time he had brought over the cocoa, probably for himself, but he could never resist serving one of his friends. The amount of time Bert spent in Starbucks was impressive even for a employee.

“Eren wants to take an impossible art class,” Armin explained, not sparing his friend’s feelings. “He wants us to all register so that the tough as nails teacher can fail us together.”

“You make a good point,” Eren quickly replied to his friend’s criticism with a broad grin. He crossed one of his jean clad legs over his knee. “We’ll need that logic when we go head first into that class.”

“Sorry, but I can’t,” Bert told them. “Reiner and Annie won’t be able to either. We have six classes already and one more would put us above the credit max.”

“Ymir and Christa are both medical students, so I don’t think they’d have time for it.” Eren lower lip jut out, a small pout forming on his face. The youngest of the trio quickly hurried on in an attempt to lift his the other’s spirits. “But Connie said he was dropping one of his theatre classes, Sasha would probably love to do it, Jean is already signed up for it, and Marco won’t be too hard to convince. Right, Mikasa?”

A rare smile spread across Mikasa’s lips. Eren himself rarely saw it peek out of her poker face nowadays. The last time he had seen a burst of emotion was during Mrs. Jaeger’s funeral. Eren’s father had adopted Mikasa nine years ago when her parents were murdered in a similar style as Eren’s. Over the years she had taken care of Eren and Armin in a way that only a mother could and everyone knew how much the two younger boys cared for her.

“Let’s go to the library and sign up today.” She tossed the styrofoam cup over her shoulder, making it into the trash in the way that only Mikasa could. “Eren, text Jean for the name of the class. Armin, call Connie, Sasha, and Marco.Bert, another coffee to go please.”

The three boys rose from their chairs and mocked a salute at commander Mikasa, only to end up laughing a few seconds later. “Roger.”

✉ to: Horse Face  
JeAN  
✉ from: Horse Face  
What, Jaeger?  
✉ to: Horse Face  
WHICH CLASS ARE YOU IN  
✉ to: Horse Face  
THE ONE WITH THE HARD TEACHER  
✉ from: Horse Face  
Why would I tell you?  
✉ to: Horse Face  
MIKASA WANTS TO TAKE IT TOO  
✉ from: Horse Face  
Art 204  
✉ to: Horse Face  
THANX

 

✉ to: Sasha, Connie, Marco  
Art 204! Register!  
✉ from: Connie  
Got it!  
✉ from: Sasha  
Sure thing, Armin!  
✉ from: Marco  
My major is psychology though…  
✉ to: Marco  
Jean is in it  
✉ from: Marco  
It’s done.

Armin slipped his cell phone into the pocket of his jacket and leaned his hands on the back of Eren’s chair. Displayed on the screen before them was Eren’s new schedule, which included the four-ten to seven art class.

“Everyone agreed to it,” Armin told the other after he switched seats with him to sign up for it as well.

“That’s great!” Eren threw an arm around Armin’s shoulder and leaned against his best friend. Mikasa had quickly added the class and rushed off to her advisement meeting with Keith Shadis, a man not to be reckoned with. Classes had yet to start and she was already on top of things.

His phone buzzed on the table next to the keyboard, sounding louder that he would have liked. His free hand shot out before the vibrations could start once more and unlocked the screen to check the text.

✉ from: Horse Face  
If you sit next to me, I’ll kill you.  
✉ to: Horse Face  
Im sITTING NEXT TO MIKASA AND MARCO  
✉ from: Horse Face  
I will end you, Jaeger!  
✉ from: Horse Face  
I can’t wait to watch you fail!  
✉ to: Horse Face  
I WONT FAIL  
✉ from: Horse Face  
Hah!

“Piece of shit Jean,” Eren grumbled under his breath as he tore his eyes away from his his phone.. He tossed the thing into his shoulder bag with a huff and laced his fingers at the back of his head. At Armin’s questioning glance, he explained the texts. “He thinks he’s so much better and that he’s going to be successful at everything. What a pain in the ass.”

“Someone should rein him in.”

He started to say something, but the joke Armin made had finally sunk in. Laughter rolled off his lips at the play on words and he could barely control himself even when the person next to them sent him a glare. He had to cover his mouth to muffle the sound coming from it.

“Armin, you crack me up.” There were times when the blonde seemed nothing but a studious bookworm, but moments like these reminded why they had bonded in the first place. He and Armin had dreamed of traveling the world, but their plans were currently put on hold by the wonderful institution called college.

“I try, I try. I’ve got to show you something too.”

A few clicks later, the pair left the library as quietly as they could, but they could barely keep their excitement hidden. Armin’s parents had digitally sent him pictures of Malaysia, where they were currently living in. Mr. and Mrs. Arlert weren’t known for staying in one place for more than two months and each new location meant foreign candies and knick knacks for Armin and his friends. What really got to Eren were the photos Mr. Arlert took. He had everything that the teen wanted. He had vowed to travel the world with Armin, and Mikasa of course. But before that, he had to keep another promise.  
His mother had to be avenged.

 

 

 


	2. Reminiscing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren thinks back as he waits to join his friends for dinner.

Dorms at Sina were a big step up from the ones that Eren had lived in the first few months of his college experience. Shiganshina, more than half the size smaller than Sina, housed around eight hundred students to two nine story twin buildings. He had been stuck in a tiny room that face another person’s window with a boy named Franz. During breaks, he made a point to travel as far away from his campus as he could, often ending up with Mikasa and Armin, which was how he had met everyone else. Between holidays spent at Sina and video calls, he had gotten to know the nine others better than he thought possible, with the exception of some, like Ymir, that were still a mystery to him.

He was located on the seventh floor of Stohess, the only dorm not blocked off by the tall academic buildings. His room was a double, about a third of the size bigger than his old ones and the beds were already turned into bunks. Two black suitcases that he had brought his clothes and trinkets were pushed underneath the bottom bunk, only partially visible due to the red sheets that hung down. He had yet to set up anything on his desk, which was parallel to his bed.

His roommate, Thomas, had yet to arrive and Eren assumed that he was a year or two above him. He would have preferred to be with someone that he knew, but everyone was paired up, except Sasha, who had a single room all to herself. Maybe next semester he could sneak his way into Bertolt and Reiner’s flay or steal Marco away from his roommate, who happened to be leaving on the abroad trip like nearly everyone else. Everything was going to be quiet.

Eren crawled onto the bottom bunk and rested his head on three pillows stacked under each other, his body sinking into the soft mattress.The sun slipped through the poorly closed shades, heating his arms and torso until the wool began to feel uncomfortable. With as much grace as he could muster, he pulled the sweater over his head and tossed it somewhere on the floor.

He usually wasn’t a messy person, but since it was only him for the next four or so days, he didn’t care what the room looked like. He didn’t plan to spend much time in it anyways. As soon as everyone had finished whatever they needed to get done, they planned on meeting up for dinner. In two hours.

Now was probably the best time to get unpacked. It took Eren a solid ten minutes before he actually managed to roll out of bed and onto the floor. Another five minutes and he lifted himself into a sitting position. Three minutes and the large suitcase containing his clothes was open. His jerseys and varsity jackets were put into one drawer, a reminder of the time when he was captain of the football team.

His coach had suggested joked about it one day as a way for him to release all of his anger and almost two weeks later had had risen in the ranks, succeeding even the seniors. He was a dangerous opponent and rival teams had nicknamed him the Rogue Titan. The Titans went undefeated after Eren joined in senior year. Mikasa and Armin would go to every single one of his games,their faces painted and voices louder than anyone else’s.

As excited as he was for this new chapter of life, a part of him would always miss his high school. He was somebody there, a star athlete. People would wave at him when he came down the hall and teachers would say hello. His first few days at Shiganshina had been a reality check. Not even his roommate paid much attention to him and ended up eloping with Hannah, his girlfriend. They had disappeared five weeks into the semester and, the last he heard, they were yet to be found.

His mother’s sweater, which he had collected from the floor, was set on top of his football uniforms. His name was stamped onto the back of each one, but the sweater was something that his mother made. He could still remember the day she had given it to him: his eleventh birthday. His parents had written out invitations to almost everyone in Eren’s class, but the day they were supposed to be sent out, he stole all of them except two. Armin and Mikasa were the only ones that showed up to his party and he preferred it that way.

From underneath his pile of clothes, he pulled a worn leather bracelet. Another gift. This one from Armin for his fifteenth birthday. It was his good luck charm since the incident with the bullies. Even as a kid, Armin was one of those boys that didn’t pay any attention to sports and always had his nose in a book. Through the course of high school, he was picked on by several jocks on Eren’s team. Mikasa and Eren were always there to rescue him.

The day after his birthday, Armin’s three favorite bullies had cornered him outside the gym after school. If Eren hadn’t left his sneakers in Mikasa’s locker, they wouldn’t have caught the tormentors before they got a chance to throw a punch. One look at Eren dashing towards them and they fled. Eren now knew that it was Mikasa that has scared the boys away from their friend. She had a reputation for being one of the toughest teens at Shiganshina High.

Armin and Eren never knew what to buy Mikasa. They’d spend a day at the mall, peeking into each shop for a minute or two. Clarabelle’s was too girly. Hallow’s was too gothy. She didn’t wear watches and her cell phone was in perfect condition. They always ended up in a sporting goods store, settling on either a new boxing gloves or running shoes. Armin was the easiest to shop for and his collection of books had taken over most of his room.

“What am I going to do without them?” Eren muttered to himself as he arranged his small collection of movies from the bottom of his suitcase. Young Frankenstein. James and the Giant Peach. Iron Robot. Jack the Giant Slayer. Everything is Illuminated. Metropolis. Big Fish. The rest, mostly animated films, were at home.

He held Wrath of the Titans in his hands, his eyes scanning over the summary on the back. The first time he had visited Sina State University had been during the fall break. His father had gone off somewhere without telling Eren and the eighteen year old boy couldn’t bear being alone in the house. He took his father’s car and drove across the five hours across the country to Sina. His first night there, they had all gather together, new friends and all, to watch Wrath of the Titans. Those were the good times.

A buzzing dragged him out of his dreamy state of the past and he rummaged around his bag until he found his cell all the way at the bottom. Eagerly, he unlocked the screen. What he saw next brought the biggest smile to his face.

✉ from: Armin

We got out early

✉ from: Armin

Eren, we’re waiting for you downstairs

✉ to: Armin

I’m on my way!

Eren grabbed his wallet and stuffed it into his bag. He slid his arms into his favorite varsity jacket and tightened the laces of his sneakers before dashing out of the door. Today was going to be a good day.

 

 


	3. Lates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's late for dinner! What happened to them?

Dinner had never been so scrambled. Armin and Mikasa (neither of which lived in Stohess) were waiting for in the first floor lounge, sporting two grey sweaters that Mrs. Jaeger had given to them for Christmas. They were watching a pair of boys play an intense game of ping pong, their eyes rapidly shifting back and forth as they followed the ball. They had gotten so caught up in the game they they hadn’t even noticed Eren sneak up behind them. He couldn’t help but laugh when the two yelped, startling the ping pong players. After a quick apology and taking a few slaps to his shoulder, the trio quietly left the lounge.   
Stohess Dining Hall was a two story brick building that also housed one of the two gyms on campus. IDs were required to even get into the building, so the only ones that could enter were students and teachers. The first night one campus, Eren had noticed how the salad bar had divided the two sides. The seniors were the only ones brave enough to mingle with the professors that sometimes chose to eat on campus. 

The inside color scheme wasn’t much different from his high school: green and white. Green for the tile, white for the walls. Outside the stairs the led up to the dining hall were two boys that Eren hadn’t seen in forever: the freckled one named Marco and blonde horse face Jean. His steps turned cautious and he expected the other to jump out from behind the wall to scare them, but as they got closer, he realized that it was only those two. 

“Hey, Mikasa,” Jean greeted her, much to Eren’s annoyance. Any interaction between those two set Eren into a displeased mood. Jean’s feelings towards Mikasa was the main reason for Eren disliking the boy. His brotherly instincts kicked in whenever they were around each other. He could actually stand to be in the same room with Jean without fighting as long as his adoptive sister was in a different one. 

“Good afternoon, Jean, Marco,” she replied not even a moment later. Mikasa was nice to everyone that she met, much to everyone’s disappointment. The only time he had seen her let go of her usual politely cold personality was when she flat out rejected Jean when he asked her on a date. It was the most joyous moment of his life when Armin had told him over the phone. He had marked it down on the calendar he had hung on his dorm wall. That same calendar was currently sitting on his new desk. 

“‘Afternoon, Mikasa, Eren, Armin,” Marco said with that happy go lucky grin that he was known for. No one had ever seen Marco frown, not even when his dreams of going to one of the most prestigious schools outside of the state was crushed. 

“Sorry for running late. Where is everyone?” Armin asked Marco, ignoring the sudden glare war that had started up between Jean and Eren. “I told them to meet us here at six on the dot and it’s already fifteen past.” 

“Yeah, but not...six am,” Marco answered, digging into the pocket of his jeans to pull out his cell phone to show Armin the text he received. “They might think that you mean tomorrow morning for breakfast, instead of today for dinner.” 

A groan of frustration pushed out of Armin’s throat and he ran a hand through his hair, pushing his short bands momentarily out of his face. “To think that I could fuck up this badly.”

Four pairs of heads turned towards the blonde as soon the curse left his mouth. Their eyes were wider than plates and they couldn’t help but stare. Never had they heard Armin say anything more than ‘heck’ and almost everyone considered him to be an angelic bookworm. Sometimes they forgot that he too was almost an adult, and a boy at that.

“Y-you’re too hard on yourself,” Eren said once he finally regained his composure, putting his hand on his friend’s back. Armin tool mistakes too hard, even though he’d done much more for them than they could ever hope. Eren could never be upset at Armin for something so small, no matter what it was. “It’s no big deal. At least Marco and Jeany Boy made it.” 

“Don’t call me that,” Jean growled, but everyone ignore him. Everyone except Marco. The freckled boy was too nice for his own good. Eren would never understand why he hung around someone like Jean. Not only that, but he was sure that the brown haired boy had a crush on the older one. Again, he would never understand why. 

“We’ll have to round them up,” Mikasa concluded. She unwrapped her scarf from her neck, but let it hang across her shoulders. She was rarely seen without the long piece of wool and it pleased Eren to no extent. “But I don’t know which dorm everyone lives in.”

“I do,” Marco came to the rescue. “I think I’ve watched a movie in every single one of the of their rooms. They like making me watch horror movies to see my reactions.”

“I’ll go with you,” Jean and Eren offered at the same time. They turned to face each other, sour expressions on their faces. On one hand, he didn’t want to leave Eren alone with only Armin as protection. As much as he trusted his friend, he knew that he would have a hard time protecting his sister. On the other hand, he wanted to go with Marco so that he could memorize where everyone lived. If he needed someone to bother, he’d know where to go. 

Marco spared them a fight by quickly jumping in. “I think Eren should come with me,” he said as gently as he could so that he didn’t offend Jean. “He’ll get to see more of the campus this way and he’s still new.”

Jean’s nose wrinkled, but surprisingly he didn’t argue with his friend. Instead, he took a step closer to Mikasa. Before Eren could fire a shot, Marco slung an arm across his shoulder and steered him towards the exit. 

“Don’t touch my sister, Jean!”

“Can’t promise th--Ah! Damn it, Armin!”

Maybe he didn’t need to protect Mikasa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, what do you think so far? Is this sort of thing good? Tell me~


	4. Hermiha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick trip to Marco's room ends up in a detour to the Art Department

“Sasha lives in your dorm,” Marco informed him once they were a few feet away from the door. From inside his tan backpack, he pulled out a cap that could only have been bought at a the college store and secured it over his head. His friend’s skin was so fair that he wasn’t surprised that he was sunburnt easily. “But I doubt that she’s there now. Usually she’s in my room with Connie. We’re both in Hermiha, near the Foreign Language and English department. Ymir and Krista too. We can pick them up and head over to Yalkell.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Eren had spent the past few days in the north side of campus, where Stohess was located. He knew the both Hermiha and Yalkell were placed on the far south, but he had never had any reason to venture beyond Central Campus. It was only because of orientation that he had even bothered to leave his room. Armin and Mikasa, as freshmen, had the option of coming back earlier and they did so to keep Eren company by dragging him to the lounge to either watch a movie or play pool. He had never been good at breaking and too often he shot the eight ball in before it was time.

While North Campus and Central Campus were completely modernized, South Campus was the opposite, almost as if one had stepped into the twilight zone. The homes in the Village, where the seniors resided, were of a gingerbread quality, like the one in Hansel and Gretel. Academic buildings, marked by the Sina State crest, used to be build out a red brick and hadn’t been remodeled since the opening of the university. The grass grew greener here, it seemed, and the trees themselves seemed larger next to the Visual Arts department. He’d have to come around here more often.

Hermiha was a worn down version of Stohess with only half the floors. The Arts building was the closest to the dorm, which explained why the sidewalk was filled with amazing waterfalls and cliffs of 3D Chalk. Jean had originally tried to get into Hermiha, but gave up on it since he preferred to have a roommate that he knew rather than one that he didn’t. Armin had told him once that Jean spent most of his free time in Hermiha because the first floor was always filled with art majors from his class. Looking in now, Eren could see what the draw was.

Although Hermiha seemed older on the outside, it was as high tech as Stohess, maybe even better. You wouldn’t be able to walk in without running into the front desk or being spotted by the attendant. After morning hours, an ID was required to even get inside the first set of doors. There were two elevators facing each other near the mailboxes. Large sofas and love chairs were pushed against the far wall, two pool tables, a ping pong table, and a flat screen tv parallel to it. The walls themselves were painted funky shades of warm colors, drawings pinned to almost every inch of them. A coffee table that looked like it was made of stained glass was camp for a few students playing Cards Against Humanity. Marco literally had to close Eren’s mouth to stop him from drooling.

“Third floor,” Marco told him once the elevator doors slid open. He removed his hat from his head and snapped it around the strap of his bag, letting it hang there in case he needed it later. The ride up was silent, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. He was so used to talking nonstop around his friends that the silence was a nice welcome.

Connie and Marco lived at the end of the hall, right next to the staircase. Stuck to their door were name tags and miniaturized movie posters that he assumed belonged to Connie. The rooms were bigger than Stohess, but he was already prepared for that. Hermiha used to be a hotel back in the day and it’s ceilings and windows were higher than classrooms and came with their own connecting bathroom.

Sprawled out on the carpeted floor was a brown haired female in blue shorts and a white tank top, her strap falling off her shoulder as she furiously pushed the buttons on the PlayStation controller. Connie was hanging upside down from the lofted bed, a different controller in his hands. His bald head was shining and he was sporting a new pair of surfer shorts. Both looked over momentarily to see who had come busting through the door before returning their eyes to the screen.

“Eren,Marcoco, whatchya doin’ here?” Connie asked his roommate. Before Marco could answer, a screech of victory erupted from his throat and he bolted up in an upright position. He had just won the fight and was doing a small victory dance while Sasha demanded a rematch. It was all too funny to see them act like children that Eren couldn’t help but laugh. The little nickname might have added to the hilarity of it all.

“Armin made a mistake,” Eren explained once the two had settled their dispute by agreeing for a second round. He was tempted to ask them if they had finally gotten together, but it seemed like they would always insist on being just friends. It was a shame because they had everyone’s support behind them. “We’re going to dinner now and we came to pick you two up.”

“We’re going to pick up Ymir and Krista too.” Marco stepped over Sasha’s body to get to his side of the room. His set his bag down on his bed, making sure to take the hat with him before returning to Eren’s side. “You two want to come along or meet us at the dining hall?”

“We’ll meet you there,” Sasha replied, stretching her arms over her head, her bones snapping into place. She pat her stomach before picking up her controller to set up the next round. “I’m going to kick his butt, but don’t worry, it won’t be too long. He caught me off guard, but that’s the end of it!”

“Not even in your dreams will you win,” Connie grumbled, propping his elbows on his crossed legs. “Just watch, Marcoco, I’ll frickle frackle her up.”

“What does that even mean?” Eren asked automatically. He rarely heard things as ridiculous as the things that came from Connie’s mouth. The most common ones were ‘faux’, ‘the bomb’, and ‘pimpin’. He barely remembered half of them. Frickle frackle must have been his word of the week.

“He probably doesn’t even know,” Sasha answered instead. Her nose scrunched up as she debated which character to chose to crush Connie. “Get the two love birds out of there room and we’ll catch up, alright? ”

“Doesn’t Krista have tennis today?” Connie asked once he had selected a champion. “I think the informational meeting is today.”

“She plays tennis?” Eren’s eyes widened as he imaged the young girl in a tennis outfit. She was a cute girl, he had to admit. Nearly everyone was gaga over Krista last semester, until Ymir snatched her up. He could honestly say that he was afraid of her catching him watching the blonde girl and literally scratching his eyes out. “I don’t think Ymir come without Krista.”

Such a mess this was turning out to be. Ymir and Krista weren’t going to make it. Annie wasn’t on campus yet. Reiner and Bert lived off campus, which meant that neither of them probably had a real meal plan. None of it was Armin’s fault, but he felt as if this could have gone better.

“Oh...Eren?”

His head turned from the two inside the room to the freckled boy next to him. Marco shook his cell phone, a beat up thing that he refused to replace out of sentimental value, before picking up Eren’s hand and placing it in his palm. The screen displayed a text from Jean, asking them to stop by the Art building to pick up his sketch book.

“Why not?” He didn’t mind a detour on their trip. Besides, they had more than an hour before dinner ended and this would give him an excuse to pop into his classroom to check out his art teacher, whose name online was Professor L. How the man managed to swing that was beyond, but he hoped that he would be something like Professor X. “We’re in no hurry, right? Since Ymir and Krista won’t be coming.”

A bright smile spread across his lips as he took his phone back and pocketed it. They waved their goodbyes to Sasha and Connie and were back outside in less than two minutes. It had gotten hotter in the last few minutes, one of the rare days of January when the sun wouldn’t go back behind the clouds. His shirt was starting to stick to his skin and he was glad that he had shed his sweater. Marco’s cap was back on his head, covering his eyes from rays.

For a university that was smack dab in the middle of a large city, the amount of nature around was surprising. Behind Hermiha was a winding stone path that led to the back door of the Art Department, the name of which he couldn’t remember. In fact, all of the dorm names were a blur to him and he doubted that he’d ever remember. He called them by their major names and so did everyone else.

This side of campus was surprising him more and more. The building housing the Art Department was only two stories from the outside, but a spiraling staircase led to the basement which housed a theatre for orchestral and band performances. Pixis Theatre wasn’t the largest on campus, but he had heard that it was the grandest. Hung on the ivory walls were project from the former classes and stuck to the bulletin boards were posters advertising upcoming musicals. Whoever designed this building seemed to love spirals because they were carved into corners of the wall and incorporated in pillars and railings. Most of the classes took place upstairs, a rectangular area with rooms along the outer walls and a few in the middle.

“Jean’s class is on the other side,” Marco told Eren once they had climbed up to the second floor. “Wait here and I’ll be back soon.”

“Mmmkay.”

He had no plan to stay still while Marco was away, but he waited until the boy was out of sight before creeping around the corner to look for his room. 234, 235, 236...There was 237. The door was painted a dark shade of navy blue, the original color showing through the cracks by the bottom. A four by four inch glass window allowed Eren to peak into the room. standing on the tips of his toes, Eren pressed his nose against the glass, his green eyes scanning the dim room until they fell onto him.


	5. Dinner Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren can't seem to get the mystery guy out of his head.

Eren picked at his French fries, trying to pay attention to the conversations around him. Sasha was boasting her rank as undefeated while Armin and Jean chatted quietly about tomorrow night’s movie.He had forgotten the title, but it was some sort of new titan movie, which he was excited for. Still, not even that could keep his mind from wandering.  
The room was too dark for him to make out much except where the chairs were lined up and how many rows there was. The curtains were drawn on the large windows and only a stream of light poured in through the cracks. His breath fogged up the square of glass and he had to clean it before surveying the room once more. Wall colors and tiles didn’t interest him much and he was about to leave when he caught a bit of movement from the corner of his eye.

Eren’s eyes zoomed in on the figure slumped against the window, his upper body bathed in shadows. Balanced on two knees was what looked to be a sketchbook. The concealed guy’s hand held several pencils. Two of them, having escaped already, threatened to roll off of the sill. Fingers twitched and closed, as if he was grabbing onto something in his dream. Eren’s hand lingered on the doorknob even when Marco called out to him and he eventually rushed back down the hall.

Love at first sight was supposed to be a mythological thing. It was a silly concept that existed inside the aging pages of fairy tales and the minds of overly romantic couples that made everyone cringe from sugar rush. The whole thing was a joke back in highschool, a playful laugh to Hanna’s insisting words while Hanz tried to back up the impossible story. He didn’t believe in any of it, but his thoughts were so tangled that he couldn’t even come up to the answer for two multiplied by four was if he was suddenly quizzed.   
“Hopeless,” Eren sighed, his shoulders slumping. He pressed his forehead against the wooden table next to his tray, drawing everyone’s eyes to him. 

“You OK?” Connie asked from the end of the table. He leaned over as if to pat the saddened boy on the shoulder, but stole a handful of fries instead. “These’ll get cold soon.”  
“Make the fries are what made him sick,” Armin suggested, pushing Eren’s head up so that he could check his temperature. “Do you feel nauseous? Dizzy? Feverish?”

Eren bat the blonde’s hand away, only slightly irritated by the action. He had scolded both Armin and Mikasa before for acting like his parents, but his mind was still elsewhere. If it was any other time, he would have grumbled and complained. “I’m not sick.” At least not physically, Mentally, he wanted to throw up.   
“His head is finally begun to swell from that large ego,” Jean joked, earning a tap on his shoulder from Marco. 

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” Mikasa offered. She was gone before Eren would answer and Mikasa followed for another plate of fries.   
Leaning back in his chair, he turned his eyes on the ceiling, but the image from last night kept coming back to him. He would pull his hair out trying to figure out who he was.The person that might know was the only one he didn’t want to ask.

“Hey, Jean.”

The Art Major turned his head away from the others, who had accepted Eren’s reason and had continued on talking excitedly about something or other. “What is it, Eren?” When he didn’t say anything, Jean rolled his eyes and quickly switched seats with Marco to be closer. “Need help knocking that ego back down?”

His lips curled into a sarcastic smile, not at all appreciative of younger boy’s jokes. He would have thrown a fry into his eye if he didn’t need any information. “You hang around in the Art building all the time, don’t you?”

Jean gave him a look that told him he had asked a stupid question, but answered it with a slight shrug. “Often enough if I’m working on a project. Why?”  
“Have you ever noticed a guy sleeping in one of the classrooms? A sketch book in his hand?” Eren’s fingers curled into his palms and he watched Jean eagerly,hoping he would get his answer. 

“A guy sleeping?” Another shrug of the shoulders. “Can’t say that I have. Sorry.”

“No problem.” 

Eren watched Jean switch seats once more before sinking into his own. A glass of water was placed in front of him and he muttered a thanks before drowning it down, hoping it would wash away his curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its been so long, but here you go! An update~

**Author's Note:**

> UPDATE: Chapter 1 &2 have been merged  
> Everyone's major was thought out and will be relieved in time. This is the first part of a series that will be about all of their adventures from freshman to senior year. I was thinking of making it first person, but third isnt bad, is i


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